Ian Poulter, runner-up at Royal Birkdale in 2008, secured a place this year via final qualifying, displaying the work ethic that has epitomised his career

Perhaps it is easier now for Ian Poulter to speak freely about what, for a spell, was the very real possibility that he might have missed the Open Championship’s return to Royal Birkdale. Or maybe his candid admission merely sums up his nature.

“How would it feel to watch this one on TV? Pretty shit,” the 41-year-old says. “Whatever happens this week, wherever I finish, it would have been horrible to sit there and watch on TV. I would have been miserable because I’d have been looking back at what happened nine years ago, thinking I wanted another go at it.”